Lièvremont denies internal strife ahead of England clash

Imanol Harinordoquy returns to the French starting line up for their quarter-final clash with England on Saturday

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France coach Marc Lièvremont has denied Les Bleus are in disarray after making two changes for Saturday's quarter-final against England.

Imanol Harinordoquy will start at No. 8 after being forced to settle for a place on the bench for the two Pool A defeats against New Zealand and Tonga.

And Perpignan tighthead prop Nicolas Mas makes his return in place of Luc Ducalcon having recovered from a hamstring problem which kept him out of the last three games.

Lièvremont said: "I do not think there are internal problems, just a frustration on my part but also the players. And also of shame after the match last Saturday. All this will, hopefully, generate a reaction.

"We're putting that behind us and looking forward to the next match. I've still got a great deal of belief in my team, a huge amount of belief in their qualities of rugby players. That hasn't changed.

"We're under a bit of pressure - it's part of the tournament. It's not huge problems, just a bit of stress and a certain amount of unhappiness with the way the pool matches have been played."

Meanwhile Aurélien Rougerie has been named in the side despite suffering a sprained shoulder at the end of the defeat to Tonga, while captain Thierry Dusautoir is also included despite a shoulder injury.

Rougerie will line up alongside Maxime Mermoz, whose Perpignan teammate David Marty comes on to the bench for the suspended Fabrice Estebanez, while Morgan Parra keeps the fly-half jersey with François Trinh-Duc again having to settle for a place on the bench.

The only other change sees Louis Picamoles come on to the bench as back row cover having missed the Tonga clash.